The Offer
by Invader ZaiFae
Summary: A mysterious stranger comes to Dib with an offer he can't refuse. Read and Review, please!!
1. Default Chapter

This is an interesting little thing that I've had bouncing in my head for a while. It was going to be some stupid, written-in-a-sugar-buzz type of thing, but I decided to write it seriously, because I like the idea. There will be humor though. (I hope.) Anyway, I'm not really that good at suspense or action scenes, but I'll try. Here goes...  
  
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Chapter 1: The Offer  
  
Dib was sitting on his roof, staring at the stars as he often did when the world got him down. He giggled slightly as he remembered an old song from a bygone era, which used the exact same wording. He sighed happily. It was so easy to forget his troubles, his attempts to stop Zim, deal with skool, and tracking down that darn Bigfoot that kept sneaking in and using the belt sander. The one drawback of sitting on the roof was that his over-active imagination would always get the better of him. Every thump was Zim drawing close for an attack, every strange shadow was a chupacabra or a Bigfoot, drawing near, or fleeing, or trying to break into the garage to use the belt sander. But that didn't really bother him. The cool night air and little summer breezes calmed him. He opened his fist, and looked at the jagged, deep purple crystal inside. He could remember when he found that. He could remember it clearly...  
  
(Flashback Lines)  
  
Puff puff puff puff. Run. Chance a look behind. He's still there! Run run run. Puff puff puff. Dib ran from the pursuing Zim. He had been ambushed, right after skool, and Zim had had the edge, surprising Dib, not giving him enough time to react; only run. And run he did. Zim had kept the speed up just enough so that Dib couldn't slow down in any way, couldn't take out a hidden squirt gun. All he could do was run. Zim had chased him into the park; Dib had swerved, and began to run parallel to the river.  
  
When he had gotten as close to the river as he could without sliding down the steep slope, he had spun, aiming to trip Zim and send him into the water. But he had miscalculated his turn, and fell in himself. He was swept helplessly downstream as Zim stood, ever dwindling, on the bank and laughed.   
  
Dib, exhausted from his flight from Zim, began to panic, and struggle wildly against the current, getting pulled under endlessly. Every time he went under, a little more water filled his lungs, and he got a little closer to not coming back up. His oxygen starved brain began ordering his arms and legs to flail wildly, searching for anything to stop his wild flight down the river. One foot hooked a branch, but it had snapped, and tumbled him head over heels. His left arm had clutched something jagged. It held. Numbly, he had pulled his left arm forward, and grabbed on to anther jagged object, and his thumb had slipped into a curved depression. He dragged his feet forward, and planted them firmly on a solid place. He pushed his head above water, and breathed deeply. He coughed up some water and breathed again. Suddenly he was calm. He looked at what he was holding. It was a huge cluster of gigantic amethyst crystals, with smaller ones poking from between the large ones. If he had been walking along the bank of the river and seen this, he would have been amazed. The thing looked like someone had just dropped it in the river. All of the edges were sharp, not river-worn, like most rocks you find in water. But he didn't notice. The only things he saw were the crystals under his hands and feet. He had been incredibly calm for someone who had just nearly drowned. He had raised his head detachedly and looked around. He wasn't too far from shore! He positioned himself to jump from the rock, but as an afterthought, turned, and broke off a 1-1/2 inch long symmetrical crystal. He clutched it tightly, and pushed from the rock to shore. Still exhausted, he lay in the little sand hollow and fell asleep.  
  
When Dib woke up, it was night, and he was cold. He stood up, and looked at the river. The rock was there. He turned, and climbed up the bank. He had gotten out of the river right near the entrance of the park, and made a mental note to go back the next morning. With that, he had staggered home, still clutching his crystal tightly.  
  
(More Flashback Lines)  
  
*But it wasn't there the next morning, * Dib thought sadly. He sighed, and clutched the crystal closer. It calmed, like it always had. When he wanted it to anyway. He had noticed that if he had it in his pocket, and wasn't thinking about it, it wouldn't work. He had to focus its energy on him, had to want it to work, for it to work.  
  
A soft thump, barely audible, shook him out of his reverie. He shook the slight chill it gave him out of his spine, and gazed longingly at the stars.   
  
"Nice night, huh?" a voice next to him said softly. Dib gasped, and propped himself up on one arm. He turned, and saw a young girl, thirteen or so. Sitting on the edge of the roof, feet dangling. He couldn't tell much about her, except that her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore a lot of jewelry.   
  
"Yeah-" he started to reply, then stopped. "Do I know you?" he asked timidly. It wasn't often a teenage girl decided to sit on his roof and look at the stars.   
  
"No, you don't," she replied simply. "But I know you, Dib," she added.   
  
"Really?" Dib was perplexed. (Gee, I wonder why?)  
  
"I've been watching you from afar," the girl said quietly. "But I don't live here, in this town. Not even on this planet, not any more. But I watch it, closely. And I've seen you fight the small Irken, Zim. I've seen you fight him, and lose. And lose. And lose." Dib's good mood fell a little. He didn't need to be reminded of his almost constant failures. "But I've come to you with an offer," she continued. Dib turned to look at the strange girl, who appeared to be staring unconcernedly at the stars.  
  
"You're not really of the planet at all, are you?" Dib asked hesitantly. The girl chuckled.  
  
"No, I'm not," she said with a sideways smile. "But I've come to you with an offer to get back at Zim. To repay him for...everything. I will take him to a planet of unimaginable danger, where the most common items are...different. They are deadly." Dib had been getting excited at these thoughts. Zim was complicating his life. Making it so hard. But the girl went on. "There is a catch..." she says ominously.  
  
"What?!" Dib said breathlessly, willing to give nearly anything to get back at Zim.  
  
"You must go to," she said. "But you will have an edge. You will be given a week to prepare. He will be swept out of the house, with about .1 seconds to prepare. You will be briefed slightly on the dangers of this planet. He...he will only know the legends and rumors. You will be told what to bring. He won't. I'm not going to sugar coat this, though. The chances that you both will die are great. The chances that you will die first are immense. But I will be there, and do everything in my power to keep you alive and him...not alive. Alas, I can make no guarantees. Do you think you want to do this?"   
  
Dib mulled over the things this mysterious stranger had told him. On one hand: he would get to prepare himself extensively, have this person on his side, and perhaps get to see Zim die, maybe painfully. On another hand, he might die. And actually, he wouldn't really mind dying. He wouldn't choose it willingly over life, but it would take an awful lot of pressure off of him. He liked the idea.  
  
"I'll do it," he said, not excitedly, but not subduedly either. The stranger looks into his eyes, almost like she was searching for something, and nodded. She reached over and unzipped a bag that he hadn't seen. She took out a pack of papers, and handed them to him. The top sheet said:  
  
Table of Contents:  
Info on the planet: P1  
Books to read: P3  
Things to bring: P4  
  
He put the packet beside him, and stared up into the sky, clutching his special crystal tightly. He heard her digging around in her bag, and she produced a thermos and a plastic bag.   
  
"Cookies?" she offers him some oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip cookies. He took a few. She filled a paper cup with hot chocolate, and offered it to him. He took it gratefully, and drank it quickly. It was getting kind of chilly out now as the night progressed. They lay together on his roof, staring at the stars, and Dib felt himself drifting faster than usual towards sleep.   
  
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When Dib awoke later, the stranger was gone. He glanced as his watch, and saw it was only twenty minutes or so since he had fallen asleep. He chuckled. She must not have wanted him to see her leave, and slipped something into his hot chocolate. He didn't mind though. Nope, not really anything could bother him now. He stood up, and slid into his house for a good night's sleep.  
  
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Ok, that's the beginning of my story. Do you like it? I hope it's not too corny sounding. Anyway, r&r please, so I can know whether or not to continue this thing. Sorry if Dib was a little OOC.  
  
Disclaimer: I only own the mysterious stranger, whose identity will be revealed sometime soon. Hee hee. I don't own anything else, though. 


	2. To Zim's House!

I got reviews! They make me feel so special! Anyway, here is the next chapter...  
  
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Dib stared at the list the girl had given him. Some of the things he could get easily, like camping gear, and freeze-dried food. But how the heck was he supposed to come up with a pistol, ammo for it, throwing knives, and a short sword?! He had no clue, and decided to leave that problem for later. He went down into his father's lab.  
  
"Dad, I need money to buy camping equipment," Dib said to his distracted father.  
  
"Sure sure," his dad said. "Here's the bank card." His dad reached into one of his pockets, pulled out an ATM card, and threw it in Dib's direction. Dib ran and deftly caught it, pocketed it, and headed upstairs. Gaz was sitting on the couch, playing her GameSlave.   
  
"Are you going out?" she asked Dib as he walked hurriedly by.  
  
"Yes..."  
  
"Bring back batteries and soda...and a pizza," Gaz said. Dib sighed, and walked downtown, into the business section of town.   
  
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Zim focused his long-range satellite thing-a-ma-jig on Dib as he hurried down the street towards the camping goods store.  
  
"What are you up to you stinking human worm?" he muttered as Dib disappeared into the store. Zim was going suspicious. All this week during skool, Dib hadn't attempted to oppose him or stop any of his evil plans. It was quite weird. This weirdness had in fact occupied Zim so much, that he hadn't even tried to take over the world! (A/N: Gasp!) Zim wondered what could be preoccupying the Dib monster so much, and could be causing him to buy the large amounts of camping gear he is now carrying. Zim frowned. The Dib problem was taking up so much of his thinking power, he didn't even get annoyed by the crazy antics of Gir! He decided to call the Tallest and let them know of his predicament...  
  
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"Why does this stuff have to weigh so much?" Dib exasperatedly asked him self. He was carrying a ton of bag that contained things like a sleeping bag, a backpack, a camping lamp, about 65 pounds of dried food, a bundle of rope, and a bag full of batteries. He headed towards Bloaty's, left his bags by the door, and walked up to the counter.  
  
"Hey Joe," he greeted the guy standing there.   
  
"Hi, Dib," Joe said. "You want a Gaz supreme?" Dib chuckled.  
  
"Yeah," he said. (A/N: Is it just me, or do you get the feeling Dib comes here often?) Joe came back a minute later, with a pizza. Dib gave him the money for it, went outside, and picked up all of the packages in one hand, while carefully balancing the pizza on the other. He walked home as fast as possible, gave Gaz's things to her, and went to his room. He looked at the list again.  
  
"Pistol, throwing knives, sword. Pistol, throwing knives, sword," he murmured. Then, a divine thought struck. Laughing, he ran back to his father's lab.   
  
"Hey, Dad, I need throwing knives, a pistol and ammo, and a short sword for a project I'm going to do. Can you get them for me?" Dib said quickly. Professor Membrane mumbled something, which Dib took to mean yes. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and there was a package there. He picked it up, ran upstairs, ad opened it. He found what he needed inside, and packed the knives in an easily accessible pocket in his backpack. He buckled the sheath for the sword and holster for the pistol around his waist to make sure they fit. They did. He sat on his bed, having nothing to do, but wait for night-fall. He decided to write a note to his family, giving them some lame excuse for why he wasn't going to be home for a while. Then he decided it would probably be smart to pack a little before the girl comes back. He packed his backpack, and climbed up on the roof, and started staring at stars. An hour creeps past, then another.  
  
"Ready?" you can guess who says to Dib. He jumps.   
  
"Jeez, would you stop doing that!!" Dib snaps. "And yes, I am ready."  
  
"Good, let's go," the girl stands up, and jumps off his roof. Dib looks over the edge, and sees a small spacecraft come up. He steps in, and gets his first good look at the girl. She looks like...um...(insert adjective here.) She is wearing a tight black t-shirt with flames across the breast that says "Race Girl." A pair of hip hugger flares cover her slightly heeled black boots. The bottom edge is fringed, with a cut that goes halfway up her leg, that is laced together with tan laces. 6 or 7 necklaces hang around her neck, and her thick brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail with two small braids hanging down the side of her face. She jumps in a pilot's seat, and deftly pilots the little craft towards Zim's house.  
  
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Oh no, what are they going to do to Zimmy? What planet are they going to? IS this mysterious stranger me?! Oh, wait. I can answer that one. No!   
  
Disclaimer: I...do...not...own...anything. If, for some strange reason, you think I do, well good for you! You're wrong! So there! :P 


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